QassJbi^l 



V 



ROCHESTER IN 1835, 
BRIEF SKETCHES 



OF THE PRESENT CONDITION OF 



THE CITY OF ROCHESTER. 



Furnished originally, as communications, for the Rochester newspapers, 



BY HEMY O'fUSIIXY. 




ROCHESTER: 
RE-PUBLISHED FOR A COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS. 

LUTHER TUCKER, PRINTER. 

1835. 



NOTICE, 



The Sketches in the following pages were furnished by 
Henry O'Reilly, as communications for the Rochester Daily 
Advertiser. They have also appeared in the Rochester Daily 
Democrat and other papers of the city. Although hastily 
written for newspapers^ they present so much information re- 
specting the Present Condition of Rochester, that the 
printer readily complies with the request of many citizens by 
presenting them in pamphlet shape. Various particulars, in - 
dividually not large, though contributing to swell the great 
aggregate of our prosperity, might be added to these Sketches ; 
but, from the rough outline which Mr. O'Reilly has pre- 
sented, the intelligent reader can readily judge that the mis- 
cellaneous pursuits incident to such a large manufacturing 
population, are too multifarious to be particularized, while they 
are too important in the aggregate to be passed without at least 
a brief allusion like this. 



BRIEF SKETCHES. 



[From the Rochester Daily Advertiser of Aug. 18.] 

CITY OF ROCHESTER— THE " NEW- 
YORK OF THE WEST." 
— Such is the title bestowed on Rochester 
by an intelligent correspondent of the New- 
York Journal of Commerce. However flat- 
tering the compliment, the attentive obser- 
ver may be satisfied, by our present prosperi- 
ty and future prospects, that it is not whol- 
ly misapplied. 

Yankee enterprise was never better illus- 
trated than by the history of Rochester. If 
it be true, as stated on a recent public occa- 
sion, "that the enlightened enterprise of 
New Englanders on a fertile soil has largely 
aided in rendering the ' Genesee Country' 
the Garden of the State" it is not less cor- 
rect to assert that the unexampled prosperi- 
ty of the City of Rochester, the capital of the 
" Genesee Country," is especially attribu- 
table to the same animating impulse. The 
great preponderance of Eastern men among 
our population, has marked not merely the 
business relations, but the general charac- 
teristics of the place ; and it would require 
no great stret ch of imagination for the Yan- 
kee traveler,from all he sees around him here, 
to fancy himself in one of the thriftiest cities 
of his native New England. 

It would in truth be difficult to imagine a 
.city much better located than Rochester, for 
Trade and Manufactures. Its immense 
hydraulic privileges — its location amid one 
of the richest wheat-growing regions in the 
i world — together with its admirable position 
i for commerce, present and prospective — am- 
ply justify the general confidence in its per- 
manent prosperity, which has occasioned 
such a large influx of population to our City 
within the last year — the increase from 1834 
to 1835 being actually greater, and the im- 
provements generally more important, than 
j occurred in the four years previous, (from 
1830 to 1834.) This great increase is the 
more gratifying, from the fact that it has oc- 
curred without any efforts from this quarter 
to attract attention to our city— and that too 



during a year wherein the general cry seem- 
ed to be " Westward ho ! "—when extraor- 
dinary speculations have been elsewhere go- 
ing on in property based on the alleged ad- 
vantages and anticipated growth of places 
farther west. 

The Water-Power, for which Roches- 
ter is celebrated, is this season being improv- 
ed to a greater degree than has occurred in 
any three years of the last nine. The large 
and excellent mills erected or erecting in 
different parts of the City, form an important 
addition to the already great flouring es- 
tablishments of the place. The hydraulic 
privileges at the lower falls, on the west side 
iof the river, are attracting deserved atten- 
tion ; while the manufacturing prosperity of 
jthat part of the City, known as Frankfort, is 
too firmly established to need an extended 
notice. The water power in the southern 
part of the City, near the Aqueduct, is, as is 
well known, already crowded with machine- 
ry- 

The purchase, by an enterprising compa- 
ny, of the mills and immense water-power 
lately owned by Judge Strong in the north- 
eastern part of the City, (a section of the 
Fifth Ward formerly known as Carthage,) 
jis one of the most important features in the 
operations of this season. The company 
consists in part of persons well known from 
their extensive connexion with the transpor- 
tation and other business in New York, Ro- 
chester, and other cities of the State. The 
improvements now making or contemplated 
by this company (who have also bought some 
of the schooners trading at this port,) have 
already given a strong impulse to enterprise 
lin that quarter of the City ; and the property 
thereabouts, wholly freed from the depress- 
ing circumstances in which it has been pla- 
ced for years, is now sought with avidity by 
many of our most respectable citizens — sev- 
eral of whom have within a few weeks pur- 
chased large and beautiful lots for the pur- 
pose of erecting dwellings with all convenient 
'despatch. So that we shall shortly see not 
only the immense water-power in the north- 



4 BRIEF SKETCHES 



em section of the City greatly improv- 
ed, but the whole of St. Paul's street, from 
the splendid church of that name north- 
ward to the Ontario Steamboat landing , at 
the Port of Rochester, studded with hand- 
some residences. And certainly that street 
may soon be rendered one of the most 
beautiful in this or any other City, running 
as it does parallel with, and but few rods 
from, the Genesee River — commanding a 
prospect of the romantic scenery along the 
banks, which in that short distance include 
two of the highest water-falls in the Union. 
The Rail Road connecting the Erie Canal 
with the port of Rochester, running on the 
River-bank parallel with St. Paul's-street, 
affords great facilities not only for the busi- 
ness of the City, but to the residents in the 
section of which we are speaking. We have 
heard it stated that an eminent capitalist and 
miller has proposed to convey the water in a 
race from the Lower Falls to the Steamboat 
Landing on the east side of the River, so as 
to create at the Port a water-power of great 
magnitude, and enable mills to draw wheat 
and ship flour directly from and into the Lake 
vessels, while the Rail Road would enable 
them to draw supplies of grain and ship their 
products with the usual facility on the Erie 
Canal. The importance of the object ren- 
ders it probable that the project will be con- 
summated before long. 

Though the Water Power is first spoken 
of, being the main spring of the prosperity of 
Rochester, the Commercial Position of 
the City is scarcely less worthy of particu- 
lar remark. 

With the Erie Canal running east and 
west through the City — with the Genesee 
River also passing through it from south 
to north, furnishing a navigable communica- 
tion for thirty or forty miles into the heart of 
the Genesee country south of Rochester, and 
the means of communicating with Lake On- 
tario on the north— with the TONA WAN- 
DA RAIL ROAD, designed to connect Ro- 
chester with Lake Erie., via Batayia and At- 
tica, which road is hurried on with such speed 
this year, that no inconsiderable portion of it 
is now ready for carriages — with these fa- 
cilities for reaching the Atlantic coast either 
by the St. Lawrence or the Hudson, or for 
transmitting our manufactures up the Lakes 
of the " far west," or south-westerly through 
the great valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi 
—with all such facilities, we repeat, the Peo- 
ple of Rochester have little to envy in the 



OF ROCHESTER. 



resources or prosperity of any City of the in- , 
terior. 

But besides all these commercial advanta- 
ges, one of the principal projects now before 
the People of the State is largely calculated 
(when completed, as unquestionably it soon . 
will be,) to add greatly to the trading facili- 
ties and solid prosperity of the place. We 
allude to the OLEAN CANAL, from the 
Erie Canal at Rochester to 01ean,at the head 1 
waters of the Allegany River — the route of 
which canal has lately been surveyed, for 
the second time, by order of the Legislature. 
The New York American styles the Allega- 
ny River the "Upper Ohio" — as it is in 
fact — forming, as it does by its connexion' 
with the Monongahela at Pittsburgh, the riv- 
er thenceforward known as the Ohio,tiYl that 
in turn is swallowed by the mighty Missis- 
sippi. This single link, from Rochester to 
Olean, about 90 miles, is now only wanting 
to complete the vast chain of internal navi- 
gation from New York to New Orleans, by 
channels less influenced by ice and storms 
than that presented by Lake Erie. The vast 
importance of this improvement has been 
forcibly impressed on the citizens of New 
York by the great delays which navigation 
has this season experienced ; and we may 
safely assert, that the merchants and for- 
warders of New York realize more fully the 
importance of this projected canal than even 
those located along its route. The deep 
stake which Rochester has in this matter is 
obvious. The Olean Canal, besides its gen- 
eral benefit to the trade of the State and its 
" commercial emporium," would be signally 
serviceable to Rochester — opening a direct 
avenue by which our manufactures might be 
more readily exchanged for the rough mine- 
ral riches of Pennsylvania, and enabling us to 
reach the south-western waters of the Union 
considerably earlier and later each season than 
that object can now ordinarily be obtained. 

The trade and intercourse between this 
and the different ports on the Canadian and 
American shores of Lake Ontario and the St. 
Lawrence, have lately much increased, and 
are steadily increasing — and this city has be- 
come within the last two years a very im- 
portant point for travelers, owing to the dai- 
ly facilities for reaching by first-rate Steam- 
boats nearly all points on both sides of the 
" northern sea," from the Niagara to the St. 
Lawrence. 

The Census just completed shows a popu- 
lation of nearly fifteen thousand in the City of 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



5 



Rochester ; though there wore in 1825 but j 
about five thousand, and in 1815 but about I 
three hundred people within our borders. | 
What an almost magical transition has a j 
single score of years presented ! A nourish- ' j 
ing City of fifteen thousand, wherein but two 
or three adult persons can be found who were . 
horn within its limits ! A comparative view j 
of the population at different periods will j 
doubtless prove interesting in connexion | 
with the foregoing statements. 



Year. Population. 
1815 331 

1819 1,019 

1820 1,502 
1822 2,700 
1825(Feb,) 4,274 



Year. Population. 
l8-25(Aug.) 5,273 
1826 7,669 
1830 10,863 
J834 12,252 
1835 14,396 



-it 



Respecting the business of the City 
may be added that the amount of canal toll j 
collected at Rochester ranks our collection j 
office third only in the State — being next to 
Albany and Troy : — 

That the revenue accruing at the Port of 
Rochester by the imports from Canada, is j 
larger than will probably be collected this j 
year at any port save one either on Lake , 
Ontario or Lake Erie : — 

That the revenue from the Rochester Post- j 
Office was last year nearly ten thousand dol- j 
lars ; and has for several years amounted 
to a sum which ranked it third even in this j 
" Empire State" — being next only to New- j 
York and Albany — a fact strongly indicative 
of the character and business of the place. j 

The increasing prosperity of the citizens, 
is sufficiently evinced by the general im- j 
provement throughout the place — by the j 
tasteful and substantial architecture of the 
new dwellings and factories, and by the mar- j 
ked change which has taken and is yet ta- 
king place in the streets of all sections of 
the City — the pavements and sidewalks of 
which, now present a striking contrast to 
the unfathomable mud that formerly charac- 1 
terised Rochester. Many of the newly-erec- j 
ted dwellings in the south-western part of i 
the City, are particularly remarkable for j 
the excellence of their architecture. 

Scarcely any thing can more strongly 
mark the almost magical change wrought in I 
less than a quarter of a century than the bu- j 
siness of the Rochester Post Office. 1812 ] 
may be considered the birth-year of Roches- | 
ter — a village plat being then first surveyed, ■ 
the first store built and Post office establish- j 
ed. The " spoils ,, of the Post Office could 
not then have been very enormous — as the 



whole income of the first three months amoun- 
ted only to three dollars and forty two cents ! 
The importance of the settlements for 25 
miles along the Genesee River, from Avon to 
Lake Ontario, previous to 1812, may be in- 
ferred from the circumstance that the mail 
was then carried through Canandaigua once 
a week on horseback, and part of the time by 
a woman. The latter circumstance occasion- 
ed some waggery from the only lawyer then 
located in "these parts" — whose demand 
for letters was generally preceded by an in- 
quiry whether " the /c-male" had arrived. 

In conclusion — The history of improvement 
; throughout this improving age may be safely 
challenged to produce a more astonishing in- 
• stance than Rochester presents of the " sal- 
I utary influence of free institutions on an en- 
: terprising people, located in a country rich in 
j all the elements of private prosperity and 
! public greatness." Rho. 

I 

j — — ' 

[From the Rochester Daily Advertiser of Nov. 12 ] 

STATISTICS OF ROCHESTER... No. 1. 



FLOURING MILLS. 

Amid the multitude of machinery with which 
the Genesee is studded, the Flouring Establish, 
ments are conspicuous. 

There are now within the city of Rochester 
twenty-one mills, with ninety-six runs of stone, 
capable of manufacturing five thousand barrels 
per day. Twenty thousand bushels of wheat are 
daily required for these mills when in full opera- 
j tion. The immense consumption of the raw ma. 
j terial occasioned by such an extensive nianufac- 
i ture, furnishes to the rich wheat-growing region 
around Rochester a ready market, while it draws 
considerable supplies from the shores of Erie and 
Ontario. Besides the wheat drawn from the sur- 
rounding country and from Ohio, some of the 
Rochester millers imported this year from Cana- 
da (subject to heavy duty) about 100,000 bushels. 

Three of the above mentioned mills have been 
erected this year, and considerable improvement 
has been made in some of the others. These 
three mills contain 18 runs — which, with the 78 
runs in the other 18 mills, form the total of 96. 

In the year ending on the 1st August 1835, 18 
mills with 78 runs of stone manufactured about 
460,000 bbls. flour ; and the annual product with 
the late improvement and increase of mill power 
(21 mills with 96 runs) will not probably be less 
than SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND BAR. 
RELS, worth between THREE AND FOUR 
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ! 



I 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



As has been remarked in the " Traveler's 
Guide," published by Davidson of Saratoga, 
"some of the Rochester mills are on a scale of 
magnitude unsurpassed in the world : — all are 
considered first-rate in the perfection of their 
machinery ; and so effective is the whole flouring 
apparatus, that there are several single runs of 
stone which can grind (and the machinery con- 
nected therewith bolt and pack) one hundred 
barrels of flour per day !" And such is the cha. 
racter and extensive demand for the article, that, 
besides the quantity shipped for foreign coun- 
tries, the " Rochester brands" may be seen equal- 
ly at Montreal or Washington — at Quebec or 
New York — at Boston, Hartford, Burlington or 
Bangor. 

The amount of capital invested in the twenty- 
one mills exceeds half a million of dollars, 
($540,000,) as was ascertained on a late accurate 
examination by Thos. H. Rochester, Esq., one of 
the Committee appointed by the Common Council 
to collect the statistics of the city. Williams' 
" Annual Register" for 1835, mentions the Ro- 
chester mills as only fourteen in number, with 
sixty-four runs of stone — but, by the statement 
here made, it will be seen that the mills are one- 
third more numerous, and the capital invested 
about double the amount given in the " Register." 
The avidity with which mill property has been 
sought, and the additions made to it during the 
present season, indicate clearly the strong con- 
fidence of our citizens in its permanent worth. 

The Millers and runs of Stone are as follows : 



Thos. Kempshall,...10 
Chappell & Meech, ... 4 

H. B. Williams, 3 

J. & M. Strong, 5 

R. Bemisb, 2 

T. Emerson, 4 

J. K. Livingston, 4 

E. H.S. Mumfoid,...8 

Win. Allcott, 3 

Ben j. Fish, 3 

Emerson & G raves, 8 



Runs. 

Harvey Ely, 9 

M. Whitney, 5 

D. M'Cracken, 2 

Jos. Field, 4 

Hooker & Co 4 

O. E. Gibbs, 3 

H. N. Curtiss 2 

Hill & Bates, 3 

do. do 4 

Williams &AUcott,.. .6 
runs — total, 96 runs. 



WATER-POWER OF ROCHESTER. 

The water-power of the two great Falls 
at Rochester is estimated as equal to 1920 Steam- 
engines of 20 horse power. The total value of 
this water-power, calculated according to the 
cost of steam-power in England, is almost incre- 
dible to those unacquainted with such subjects — 
amounting as it would to nearly ten millions of 
dollars ($9,718,272) for its annual use ! (See 
Rochester Directory for 1827 and Edwin Wil- 
liams' Universal Gazetteer.) 

When, in connection with this vast water- 
power, we consider the great facilities which Ro- 
chester enjoys (by lake, canal and river) for re- 



ceiving wheat and other raw material from, and 
shipping flour and other manufactures for, all de- 
sirable points, either in the United States or the 
Canadas, we may more fully appreciate the im- 
portance of our present milling and manufac- 
turing establishments, and confidently anticipate 
the continued prosperity and prospective great- 
ness of the city. 

The flouring business, although it is that for 
which Rochester is at present most celebrated, is 
by no means of such importance to the real wel- 
fare of the city as the other branches of manu- 
factures, which will be briefly noticed in future 
communications. Rno. 



[From the Rochester Daily Advertiser of Nov. 16.] 

STATISTICS OF ROCHESTER,.. No. 2. 

MANUFACTURES GENERALLY. 

The great extent of the Milling Interest hav- 
ing been already particularly mentioned, atten- 
tion will now be directed to the Manufactures 
generally which contribute so largely to the pros- 
perity of the city of Rochester. The account 
presents an aggregate that will surprise many 
even of our own citizens, who have, as is fre- 
quently the case, overlooked or slighted those 
matters which are commonest before them. 

THE WOOLEN FACTORIES 

Are worthy of a prominent place, from the 
market which they (together with the Morocco 
factories) afford to the farmer for his wool, as 
well as for their contribution to the solid wealth 
of the place by the greatly increased value which 
their operations impart to the raw material. 

The Carpet factory is one of the most inter- 
esting and successful branches of business pur- 
sued here. It was commenced in 1832 — burnt 
in 1834 — and re-established in 1835. Twenty 
looms and forty persons (the weavers mostly 
from British factories) will be steadily employ- 
ed in making Venetian and Scotch carpeting, of 
excellent quality. The products of the establish- 
ment will shortly be diversified by the making of 
Imperial or three-ply carpets, and also of Rugs 
of superior quality. From 80,000 to 100,000 
pounds of coarse wool and worsted yarn are 

annually consumed producing about 40,000 

yards of carpeting, worth about $60,000. 

These quantities (of raw material and manufac- 
ture) will speedily be much increased by the pro- 
posed additions to the machinery. Besides this, 
the people of the surrounding country are here 
supplied to a considerable degree with carpets 
dyed and wove from their own yarn. E. D. 
Smith & Co., proprietors. Buildings of stone, 
and large — real estate and machinery, worth 
$12,500. 



I 



BRIEF SKETCHES 



OF ROCHESTER. 



7 



The extensive Woolen factory of E. & H. 
Lyon has been steadily augmenting its business 
from its commencement. It is in excellent or- 
tier, with spacious stone buildings, and machine- 
ry of the most approved sort. It employs 60 
hands,uses $42,000 worth of woolycarly,and turns 
out $70,000 worth of broadcloths,cassimeres,&c. 
Investment in real estate and machinery, $45,- 
000. 

The woolen factories of H. N. Curtiss and 
John Post employ 33 hands, use $10,000 worth 
of wool, and yield sattinets and plain goods w T orth 
annually about $22,000. — besides a large amount 
manufactured for customers from the surround- 
ing country. 

There are several establishments for Wool- 
carding and Cloth-dressing. 

COTTON GOODS. 

The Cotton Manufacturing Company (Joseph 
Strong, agent) have $70,000 invested in real es- 
tate, employ 100 hands, and turn out annually 
about $55,000 worth of sheetings, shirtings, 
yarn and batting. 

The cotton business has not been prosecuted 
with the spirit which such an advantageous loca- 
tion justifies ; though, from the enterprising feel- 
ing now awakened, it cannot be doubted that 
other cotton factories will shortly be established. 

LEATHER. 

The Tanning and Leather Establishment of J. 
& D. Graves is one of the most perfect in the 
Union — well located, and buildings excellent, va- 
lued at $25,000. This Tannery makes about 
$70,000 worth of Leather yearly. 

The Tannery of Jennings & Keeler manufac- 
tures annually about $40,000 worth of sole and 
upper leather. 

The three Morocco factories of Edw. Roggen, 
Errickson & Parsons, and J. & D. Graves, af- 
ford a ready market for Sheepskins from the 
surrounding country and from Canada. Sheep- 
skins alone are bought, principally for the wool, 
to the amount of $100,000 annually in this city, 
from the farmers of the vicinity — besides the im- 
ports from Canada, &c. 

Saddles, Harness and Leather Trunks are ex- 
tensively manufactured at the establishments of 
Lathrop & Co., Squier &, Egglcston, John 
Watts, &c. 

Hose for Fire Engines is made by J. & D. 
Graves, Alfred Judson and Lewis Selye. 

Leonard's Buckskin Wrapper and Glove Fac- 
tory employs 30 persons and does a good busi- 
ness—yearly products worth $12,000. 

JEWELRY, IRON, BRASS, &C, 

Six Gold and Silversmiths' Shops and Stores, 
owned by E. Cook, W. & H. Stanton, J. Pack- 
ard, A. J, Burr, G. R, Clarke, and Albert Walker. 



Rifle-making is carried on to a degree of per- 
fection which challenges competition from any 
quarter. The three factories of Miller, Medber- 
ry and Gilbert are so well known to all sportsmen 
in this quarter, that further particulars are unne- 
cessary. The Seven-shooting Rifle is now 
brought to great perfection by the ingenious in- 
ventors, the Messrs. Miller, who find the demand 
increase as the nature of the improvement be- 
comes generally known. 

Steel springs for carriages are made in two es- 
tablishments expressly for the purpose, and also 
at Witbeck & Hanford's Coach Factory. 

A Bell and Brass Foundry, several brass- 
workers, brass lamp and beer-pump makers, &c, 

Three Iron Foundries — The Eagle and Roch- 
ester furnaces supply most kinds of Mill and oth- 
er castings, to the value of $30,000 yearly. 

Several Iron turners. 

A lead-pipe factory, making $5,000 worth. 

WOOD & IRON. 

Several extensive plough factories, threshing 
machine factories, fanning mill factories, saddle- 
tree and hame factory, &c. Threshing machines 
and fanning-mills, yearly, worth about $10,000. 

EDGE-TOOLS, &C. 

Edge-Tools, for Carpenters, Coopers, &c. are 
largely manufactured by Barton & Babcock, II. 
W. Stager, &c. It is asserted with confidence, 
that the temper and finish of these tools are un- 
surpassed by those from any workshops in Europe 
or America. They are receiving a patronage 
commensurate with their merits. Stager makes 
about $6,000 worth, and Barton & Babcock 
about $13,000 worth of Edge Tools yearly. 

Axes are made in great quantities at several 
factories. 

Scythes — Selye's shop alone makes six hun- 
dred dozen of these articles per annum, in addi- 
tion to his other valuable manufactures. 

Planes are made by Evans — 

Iron-Squares, by Dana — 

And there is a factory for Augers. 

FIRE ENGINES. 

The success attending Lewis Selye's Fire. 
Engine Factory is highly gratifying. Three out 
of the six Engines in this city are of his make, 
and give entire satisfaction, being preferred to the 
eastern Engines. The demand for Selye's En- 
gines from various quarters is now very consid- 
erable ; and they are not only working their way 
into the villages of the " far west," but entering 
successfully into competition eastward with the 
best Engines made in the Atlantic cities. They 
are equally admirable for their mechanical finish 
and powerful execution ; and the manufacture 
is alike creditable to the skill and enterprize of 
Mr. Selye, and beneficial to the city, Invest. 



8 



BRIEF SKETCHES 



OF ROCHESTER. 



ment in real estate and machinery, $16,500 — 
hands employed, 24 — turning out about $30,000 
worth of work, including mill-work, &c. 

CARRIAGE-MAKING. 

Several coach and Carriage-making establish- 
ments — those of N. Jewell, Witbeck & Hanford, 
Tiffany Hunn, W. Simpson, &c. Witbeck & 
Hanford alone turn out about $50,000 worth of 
work yearly — employ 41 hands, and have invest- 
ed in real estate $10,000. 

Various wagon and sleigh makers, manufac- 
turing a large amount annually. 

SAW-MILLS AND LUMBER. 

Ten saw-mills, some of which saw long ship- 
plank for the supply of our own boat-yards, and 
for transportation to the seaboard. Besides the 
large quantities of lumber made in these mills, 
much is floated down the river to this city, &c. 

A Veneering Mill has been established by A. 
Whipple & Co., which makes yearly about $30,- 
000 worth of Mahogany, black walnut and ma- 
ple veneers. 

BOAT- BUILDING, &C. 

This is swelling into a very important branch 
of business — and the established character of the 
Rochester boats secures for our builders as many 
orders as they can execute. The boat-yards of 
Seth C. Jones, W. Barhydt & Co., W. W. How- 
ell, A. W. Riley, J. Hildreth and L. Lawson, are 
extensively engaged in this business. The Del- 
aware and Hudson, and Pennsylvania and Ohio 
Canals, besides the chief canal of this State, have 
been supplied in part from the Rochester boat- 
yards. The amount of boat-building and re- 
pairing is now about $150,000 annually. 

COOPERING. 

The extent of this business may be inferred 
from the immense quantity of barrels required 
for flour, beef, pork, whiskey, beer, &c. The 
flouring mills alone will require about two hun- 
dred thousand dollars worth of barrels for their 
next year's business — making a total of about six 
hundred thousand barrels, at the rate of three 
barrels for a dollar. 

CABINET-MAKING, &C. 

Several extensive cabinet factories — those of 
William Brewster, F. Starr, Bill Colby, Shaw 
&. Bingham, Kilbourn & Graves, and others. 

Also, chair-factories, carried on by S. H. 
Packard, B. Colby, and others. 

Two looking-glass factories — those of John H. 
Thompson and J. S. Ruggles. 

BREWERIES, DISTILLERIES, &.C. 

Throe extensive Breweries, carried on by 
Messrs. Lyman, Longmuir & Christie — all large 
stone buildings, real estate and machinery worth 
$25,000, employing 20 hands, and making year- 
ly $40,000 worth of beer and ale. 



Three distilleries, owned by Hooker & Co. 
A. Sawyer and E. Wolcott — making above $30,. 
000 worth of whiskey, besides pork, &c. 

A Spirit-gas and Alcohol distillery, owned by 
Geo. Brace. 

SOAP AND CANDLES. 

The soap and candle factories of R. Dyer, S. 
Moulson, and J. Anderson, make large quantities 
for the Lake trade, as well as for the surrounding 
country. Dyer's factory turns out 120,000 lbs. 
of candles and 60,000 lbs. of soap, annnually — 
besides seventy or eighty tons of tallow, which 
latter is chiefly exported to Canada. The pur- 
chases of raw tallow for this factory amount 
from 160 to 180 tons per year. Moulson's soap 
and Candle Factory makes 70,000 lbs. of candles, 
8,000 lbs. of soap, and prepares 10,000 lbs. of 
tallow for sale. Its purchase of rough tallow 
amounts to 80,000 lbs. costing about $7,000 — 
and of materials for soap, $3,000 — making a to- 
tal of $10,000 for raw materials alone. The 
establishments of Dyer and Moulson are both 
newly re-built, of stone and brick, spacious and 
well arranged. 

PRINTING, BOOK-BINDING, &C. 

There are two daily newspapers, one of which 
was established in 1826 — being the first daily pa- 
per issued west of Albany. Also, six weekly 
prints — three bookstores and book-binderies, and 
seven printing offices. 

The " Genesee Farmer," one of the best Ag- 
ricultural publications in this or any other coun- 
try, is one of the six weekly papers — and is now 
in its fifth volume — a fact somewhat indicative 
of its worth and stability, as most papers of the 
kind through the Union have expired by reason 
of their innate weakness or want of patronage, 
after ricketty existences of a few months. The 
support of such a print argues strongly for the 
enlightened character of the Western Farmers. 

WOODEN WARE, &C. 

Wood-screw factory ; sash factories, by hand 
and water-power ; wooden-clock makers ; pail, 
tub and chum factories ; several basket-making 
shops ; two last factories ; and last, and least in 
appearance, but not unimportant, two shoe-peg 
factories — one of which is a most ingenious 
piece of machinery, which, with little manual la- 
bor, yearly converts a few cords of wood into 
about three thousand dollars worth of shoe pegs. 
It should not be forgotten, that those manufac 
tures which put the greatest amount of value on 
the raw material, are, as a general rule, most pro- 
fitable to the place of their location. Of wood- 
en clocks, made yearly, $10,000 worth— pails, 
tubs and churns, $14,000 worth— chair stuffs, 
&c. $5,000 yearly, &c. &c. 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



P 



MARBLE WORKS. 

Two establishments for dressing marble for 
mantle-pieces, monuments, &c. The one own- 
ed by I. L. Morse is also extensively engaged in 
sawing marble, and freestone for buildings, &c. 

HATS AND CAPS 

Are manufactured to considerable extent by 
Kempshall & Divoll, W. & J. Haywood, Edw. 
Roggen, T. Taylor, D. Perrin, A. C. Wheeler, 
and others. 

MILL-FURNISHING. 

Kempshall & Bush, besides their foundry for 
mill-castings, have a burr-millstone factory, which 
turns out yearly about $12,000 worth of work. 

BUTCHERING, BAKING, &.C. 

The amount of business in these lines is far 
greater than the superficial observer would sup- 
pose. A little consideration of the vast number 
of boats and other conveyances passing through 
and requiring supplies in the city, will satisfy 
any one that the quantity of meat and bread re- 
quired for our own population, large as that is, 
is greatly augmented by the causes just mentioned. 

SHOEMAKING, TAILORING, &C. 

There are many extensive Shoemaking estab- 
lishments, such as those of Geo. Gould & Co., 
Oren Sage, Jesse Congdon, S. Y. Ailing, E. H. 
Grover, E. R. Everest, E. Pancost, J. Ailing, N. 
Nichols, A. Wakelee, &c, some of which keep 
constantly employed from twenty to sixty persons. 

Numerous tailoring establishments for supply- 
ing the demand from the surrounding country 
and from the multitude of travelers passing 
through the city by the Canal and Lake, and by 
Stages — besides those shops designed more par- 
ticularly for supplying custom-work to the inha- 
bitants. The establishments of Geo. Byington, 
John Bunas, P. Kearney, Chas. H. Graham, T. 
Wilkins, J. Buchan, T. Jennings, A. M. Wil- 
liams, P.Doyle, Messrs. Moore, O. jk, E. Tyler, 
Sherman & Robinson, &c, employ a large num- 
ber of hands. 

BEEF, PORK AND LARD. 

Large quantities of these articles are annually 
packed at the several slaughtering establish- 
ments of Rochester, for the Canada and New- 
York markets. 

TOBACCO, SNUFF AND SEGARS, 

Are manufactured at the factories of Griffith, 
Brothers & Son, Palmer & Disbrow, &c. 

DYING. 

Several Dying Establishments — one of which 
(F. Peacock's) is so well known for the excel- 
lence of its fancy dyes, that it executes a large 
amount of orders from a wide extent of country. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Perrin's oil-mill furnishes a good market for 
flaxseed, and a large supply of linseed oil, 



Sprague's glue factory does a good business. 
A Starch factory has been in operation several 
years. 

Two Comb factories — owned by Caldwell & 
Son, and W. Thurston. 

Two bellows and brush factories. 

Several machine shops for turning and fitting 
iron, brass, &c. 

A factory of Sal Eratus and other chemical 
preparations. 

The Confectionary of Alfred Hubbell usee 
about 40,000 lbs. of sugar, which produces ar- 
ticles of his manufacture to the yearly value of 
$8,000. 

A manufactory of spirit-levels. 

A Whip factory, by S. Robinson. 

A Rope walk — one Powder factory. 

The Upholstery business, as well as the Cabi- 
net making, is carried on largely by Win. Brew- 
ster. 

It will be observed, that we have as yet al- 
luded merely to the manufacturing and mechani- 
cal branches of business. Future numbers will 
be devoted to the commercial position and mer. 
cantile character of the city — to the business of 
the Forwarders and Merchants — showing the ex- 
tent of the produce bought, and goods sold, and the 
deep interest (pecuniary and otherwise) which 
Rochester has in the commerce of canal, lake and 
railroad, and the general improvement of the state. 
For the present, it is sufficient to say, that the 
revenue of the Post-office and Canal Collector'^ 
office are greater than those of any other place 
west of Albany — and that our forwarders are pro- 
bably more largely interested in the stock of tha 
vast fleet of boats which navigate the canal, than 
those of any other city in the state. Rho. 

[From the Rochester Daily Advertiser of Nov. 20 ] 

STATISTICS OF ROCHESTER.. .No. 3. 



COMMERCIAL BUSINESS. 

It would be difficult to imagine an interior city 
better located than Rochester for Commerce as 
well as Manufactures. 

As this sketch may fall under the observation 
of persons unfamiliar with our localities, it may 
be well to state that the Genesee River runs 
northwardly through Rochester to Lake Ontario, 
while the Erie Canal crosses the city east and 
west — that the river is navigable for boats for 
nearly 40 miles south of Rochester, while Lake 
vessels of the largest class ascend the river to the 
northern part of the city, distant from Lake On. 
tario five miles. A Rail-Road, two and a half 
miles long, connects the Erie Canal in the South- 
erly portion of the city, with the Port of Roches, 
ter, in th6 northern part — thus greatly facilita. 



10 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



ling Uie transit of goods and passengers between 
the waters of the Canal and Lake. Thus, in ad- 
ditionto the advantages of the Grand Canal for the 
transportation of our products to the seaboard or 
into the vast interior along the shoies of the 
great Lakes and Rivers of the west and south- 
west — Rochester has a direct communication by 
steamboats and schooners to all points on Lake 
Ontario, from Burlington Bay to the St. Law- 
rence ; and can by this way forward its goods 
through the Welland Canal to the Upper Lakes, 
or through the St. Lawrence to the cities of Mon- 
treal and Quebec — thus possessing a choice of 
markets, of essential consequence to its prosper- 
ity. The richness of the Genesee Valley is ren- 
dering the navigation of the River south of Ro- 
chester, an object of growing importance ; and a 
steamboat, like those on Connecticut River above 
Hartford, was last year added to the vessels com- 
monly navigating this portion of the River, which 
navigation, short as is its course,brings to Roches- 
ter (astheJLm. Encyclopedia remarks) "much of 
the products of a fertile south & south-west coun- 
try of 2,000 square miles in extent." It may be 
added, that a Canal of 50 or 60 miles, from the 
point to which the river-boats now ascend South 
of Rochester, would connect the navigable com- 
munications of the State with the Allegany River 
at Olean — though the project most favored is for 
a Canal the whole distance from Rochester to 
Olean, 90 miles. The completion of this project 
would furnish a direct water communication from 
Rochester to the Atlantic, through the Allegany, 
Ohio and Mississippi — just as we now have out- 
lets for our products to the same ocean, through 
the Erie Canal and North River to New York, 
and through Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, 
in a northerly direction. 

ERIE CANAL TRADE. 

Thus situated — with such facilities for trade, 
as well as manufactures — it is not surprising that 
Rochester should become largely interested in 
the forwarding business, especially on the Erie 
Canal— though it will probably surprise many even 
of our own citizens to learn that our Forwarders 
have become interested in the Transportation and 
Packet Lines to the great extent that they actu- 
ally have. The amount of stock in those Lines, 
now owned by citizens of Rochester, is about 
0^7=* Three Hundred and Fifteen Thousand 
Dollars — a larger amount than is owned in 
those Lines by the People of any other city of 
the State. Well might the Editor of the Ency. 
clopedia Americana assert (even in 1831 — since 
which our citizens have become still more largely 
interested in Canal Trade) that the great number 
of " boats, built, equipped and owned principally 
"at Rochester, make it the seat of the Transpor- 



" tation business, boat-building, and trades coil- 
"nected with it, giving employment to [six] ex- 
" tensive boat-building establishments, of between 
" 30 and 50 men each, besides joiners, smiths, 
" &c." " The superior white oak and pine lum- 
"ber here, with its central location at the turn- 
"ing point of water-conveyance between the 
"west, New York and Montreal, confer these pe- 
" culiar advantages on Rochester." — Enc. Am. 
Vol. XL page 54. 

The amount of Canal Toll collected at Roches- 
ter this season, (up to Nov. 17,) notwithstanding 
all the reduction of Toll, is about one hundred 
and seventy thousand dollars — being several 
thousands more than was received last year, and 
more than the receipts of any other collection of- 
fice west of the Hudson. 

The names of the Canal Lines, with the 
amount of stock held in them, by the Rochester 
Forwarders, are as follows : 

Names of Lines. Stock held in Rochester. 

Pilot and Trader's, $48,000 

Transportation Line, 6,000 

New York and Ohio, 12,000 

Washington,. . .4,000 

Erie and Ohio,. . . , 24,000 

Troy and Ohio, 20,000 

Troy and Erie,. 7,000 

United States, 12,000 

Buffalo,.... 12.000 

Detroit, 24',000 

Telegraph, 8,000 

Clinton, 13,000 

Merchant's, 27,000 

Commercial, 16,000 

N. Y. and Michigan, 22,000 

Rochester, 5,000 

River-boats, including Steam-boat ) gQ qqq 

on the Genesee, ) " ' " " ' 

Transient and wheat boats, 10,000 

Eastern and W" estern line of Packets, . . . .25,000 

$315,000 

PORT OF ROCHESTER — NAVIGATION OF LAKE ONTA- 
RIO. 

Although much less attention is paid to the 
navigation of Lake Ontario than its importance 
demands from the citizens of Rochester, (their in- 
terest being now most largely in the manufactu- 
ring and Canal Transportation,) the facilities of- 
fered for Trade and Traveling by the Steamboats 
and other Lake craft have added much to the 
importance of the place within the last two years. 
Five Steamboats have touched regularly in their 
trips up and down the Lake — affording daily op- 
portunities for reaching all prominent points on 
its shores, from the Niagara to the St. Lawrence. 
Numerous Schooners also facilitate the inter- 
course with our Canadian neighbors, as well as 
along our own shores. 

Judging from the interest lately awakened on 
this subject, it may be reasonably anticipated that 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



11 



the enterprize which has so signally marked the 
Manufacturing- and Canal operations of our citi- 
zens, will shortly be directed to the construction 
of some additional steamboats for insuring to 
this place a further participation in the trade 
and travel of the Lake. 

The revenue accruing at the Port of Rochester 
this season, on imports from Canada, is about 
$26,000 — alarger amount probably than has been 
collected at any other port, save one, on either 
of the Lakes. 

RAIL-ROADS CONNECTING ROCHESTER WITH LAKES 

ONTARIO AND ERIE. 

Besides the Rail-Road (two and a half miles 
long) which connects the Erie Canal with Gene- 
see River and Lake Ontario, which has been in 
operation three years — there is another Rail-Road 
of great importance to Rochester. The " Tona- 
wanda Rail-Road," as a link for connecting Ro- 
chester with Lake Em, by a route south of the 
Erie Canal, is advancing towards completion so 
rapidly, that the whole line from Rochester to 
Batavia and Attica, between 40 and 50 miles, will 
be finished next year. The track is now used as 
a part of the Mail-Stage route as far south west 
as Churchville, fourteen miles from Rochester. 
This Rail-Road acquires additional importance 
from the fact that it will soon be connected with 
others which will form a connected line from the 
Hudson to Lake Erie. The Schenectady and 
Utica Rail-Road will soon, in connexion with the 
" Mohawk and Hudson," bring this chain as far 
west as Utica ; and the exertions of the people 
of Syracuse, Auburn, Geneva, Canandaigua, &.c. 
render it certain that the route will speedily be 
completed to Rochester ; whence, as already sta- 
ted, the " Tonawanda Rail-Road" will continue 
it to Batavia and Attica, from which another 
short route will strike Lake Erie, either at Buf- 
falo, or at a point on the Lake south of that city, 
so as to avoid the inconveniences of the ice which 
not unfrequently impedes the navigation about 
Buffalo, while other parts of the Lake are free. 
Such is the great plan, now being carried into 
execution near both extremities of the route, for 
connecting the Hudson with Lake Erie by a line 
of Rail-Road nearly along the route of the Canal. 
This, with the projected Rail-Road through the 
southern tier of counties, (part of which is now 
under contract, and the whole of which will un- 
questionably be completed as speedily as possible) 
will form three great lines of communication be- 
tween the Hudson and Lake Erie— two by Rail- 
Road and one by Canal. The Tonawanda Rail- 
Road will bo of much service in facilitating the 
transit to this city of vast quantities of produce 
from the fertile region it traverses — -and particu- 



larly in helping to supply the immense consump- 
of wheat in our flouring establishments. 

ROCHESTER POST-OFFICE. 

The Post-Office business- — no unsatisfactory 
indication of the intelligence and enterprise of 
a community— -is larger than that of any otlier 
city in this State, save New- York and Albany ; 
the annual receipts amounting to ten or eleven 

THOUSAND DOLLARS. 

AS FOR THE MERCANTILE BUSINESS 

It was designed to enumerate the stores of va- 
rious kinds in the city ; but that may be consid- 
ered almost a work of supererogation, as every 
intelligent reader can judge somewhat of the 
great extent of Mercantile business in a city so 
deeply interested in manufacturing and commer- 
cial pursuits. The large amount of produce 

j bought for the supply of our mills and for expor- 
tation, throws into circulation vast sums of mon- 
ey, which enable the farmers to deal with our 
merchants and manufacturers in the mode most 
satisfactory to buyer and seller— for ready cash. 
The millions of dollars annually disbursed for 
wheat and all the other products of the husband- 
man — with the vast sums put in circulation by 
our extensive manufactories and by the com- 
merce of Canal and Lake, placed the mercantile 
business of Rochester on a foundation too firm to 
be shaken by the convulsions to which the money 
market has been subjected within the last two or 
three years. The Storekeeper, like the Miller and 
Forwarder — like the Manufacturer and Mechan- 
ic — participates with the Farmer in the signal 

j prosperity which has placed Rochester so high in 
the rank of cities, and rendered it emphatically 
" the' New York of the West." Rho. 



CONCLUSION. 

In the first number of these Sketches, the 
Milling Interest showed a total of twenty-one 
mills and 96 runs of stone, with the large amount 
of $540,000 invested in real estate — capable of 
making 5,000 barrels a day, and using, when in 
full operation, twenty thousand bushels of wheat 
each day, worth now 9 shillings per bushel — 
thus requiring a daily outlay exceeding$20,000 for 
the raw material alone, exclusive of all other ex- 
penses of milling, barrels, &c. The value of 
flour manufactured by the present mill power 
is, as already stated, between Three and Four 

Millions of Dollars per annum being about 

600,000 barrels, the mere cooperage of which 
is about $200,000 ! 

In the second number, there is shown a great 
variety of other manufactures,whose products, be- 
ing generally and largely on the increase, pro- 
; mise to contribute, in a ratio equaling any thing 



12 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



in our past history, to the rapid growth and so- 
lid benefit of the city. The success with whicli 
the whole operations have been managed, isalike 
creditable to all concerned, and indicative of the 
manufacturing prosperity of Rochester. There 
are many other mechanical pursuits in success, 
ful operation, which, though perhaps individually 
not large, contribute to form an aggregate vastly 
greater than (as has been already remarked) even 
many of our own citizens are fully aware. 

The third part indicates the extent of our in- 
terest in Canal Commerce particularly, and shows 
that there is three hundred and fifteen thousand 
dollars worth of stock held in the Canal Trans- 
portation and Packet Lines by the Rochester For- 
warders — exclusive of the Lake vessels owned 
at this Port — and that the amount of stock in 
those Canal Lines thus owned here is greater 
than the amount held in any other city of the 
State — which latter fact is strongly illustrative 
of the enterprize and wealth of that class of our 
citizens who have devoted themselves to this im- 
portant pursuit. 

It is believed to be a low estimate, that the 
amount of real estate occupied in the various 
manufacturing pursuits is at least equal to the 
amount invested in flouring mills ($540,000) ; 
and that the whole value of real estate employ- 
ed for flouring and other manufacturing purpo- 
ses, may be safely set down at eleven hundred 
thousand dollars. 

Of the great amount of capital requisite to 
prosecute successfully such extensive milling, for- 
warding, manufacturing and mercantile busi- 
ness, the intelligent reader can form his own 
conclusions. The present Banking Capital of 
the city (only $550,000) is notoriously insufficient 
to supply even the wants of the Millers — opera- 
ting, as they do now, to the annual amount of 
between three and four millions of dollars. 



It has been well remarked, that " Yankee en- 
terprise and Dutch perseverance" are among the 
mainsprings of the prosperity of this state. It 
would seem as if the influence of both were hap- 
pily blended in the extraordinary progress of our 
city. 

Monarchs may create cities through the labor 
of their vassals— lordlings may beautify their 
towns with palaces, and a political priesthood 
rear gorgeous temples to the Almighty, through 
the gold wrung by taxes and tithes from the hard 
hands of the farmer and mechanic ; — and the tra- 
veler may revel in such scenes amid all the 
eharms which power, wealth and art can bestow. 
— But in all this display, what is there to com- 
pare with the moral grandeur of the scene by 
which we are here surrounded ? p" A city of 



fifteen thousand, unsurpassed for the beauty or 
comparative number of its religious edifices — 
whose dwellings and factories are equally indica- 
tive of prosperity and comfort — and whose manu- 
factures already amount to millions \JT^ Such, 
such is the scene which challenges admiration 
here — here, where the wolf and Indian prcKvled 
so recently that there are among our whole popu- 
lation not five persons of manly age who were 
bom within the city limits ! — where the forest 
has been subdued, natural resources developed, 
and a dense population collected, with a sudden- 
ness and success unparalleled oven in a land pro- 
verbial for enlightened enterprise I Rho. 

[From the Rochester Daily Advertiser of Nov. 24.] 

MEMORANDA OF THE COUNTY OF 
MONROE. 

The great sources of the prosperity of the city 
of Rochester having been briefly sketched in for- 
mer numbers, the prominent villages of Monroe 
County will now be noticed as fully as our mate- 
rials permit. Among the villages whose popula- 
tion and business contribute to place this county 
so high in the catalogue of the State, 

BROCKPORT 
Is one of the most conspicuous. The build- 
ings and improvements generally, in and about 
this place, indicate the flourishing condition of 
its business, as well as the good taste of its inha- 
bitants. The village is well laid out, and the 
buildings chiefly of brick and stone, from two to 
four stories high. The Canal passing through 
Brockport, affords an opportunity for considera- 
ble forwarding business, and there are nine ware- 
houses. This village is nearly 20 miles from 
Rochester, near the west line of the county, and 
has a Canal Collector's office. The following let- 
ter from Seth L. King, Esq., Collector of Canal 
Toll, furnishes particulars of the business of 
Brockport : 

" Brockport, Nov. 16, 1835. 

" Sir — In reply to your letter requesting in- 
formation respecting this village, I will state 
that, within twelvemonths, there have been pur- 
chased here, 451,000 bushels of wheat; and dur- 
ing the same period there has been purchased and 
shipped 45,000 bbls. flour, 415 tons ashes, besides 
large quantities of bailey, grass seed, wool, &c. 

" There are in this village 12 dry-goods stores, 
3 hardware stores, 9 grocery stores, 2 drug and 
paint stores, 4 shoe stores, 2 hat stores, 1 seed 
store, and 1 leather store — in all, 34 stores ; — 
3 carriage shops, 4 blacksmith shops, 2 saddle 
and harness shops, 2 cabinet shops, 2 carpenters 
and 2 turner's shops, 4 milliner shops, 2 tanner- 
ies, 3 livery stables, 4 taverns, 1 cupola furnace, 
1 threshing-machine factory, 1 plough factory, 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



13 



1 chair factory, 3 tin and sheet iron factories, 1 
rifle factory, 9 warehouses, 3 butcher and 2 ba- 
ker shops, 4 tailor shops, 1 chandler shop, 1 coop- 
er shop, 3 paint shops, &c. 

" There are in the village 4 lawyers and 5 
physicians — 3 handsome churches, 3 select and 2 
common schools. 

" The Brockport Collegiate Institution has re- 
cently commenced, with about 30 students. The 
building is of stone, 60 ft. by 100, and four sto- 
ries high above the basement. Had I more time, 

1 might furnish you with other particulars — 
though perhaps I have already included some 
items such as you may not think proper to use. 

"Yours, &c. S. L. KING. 

" H. O'Reilly." 

SCOTTSVILLE. 

The village of Scottsville is 12 miles south of 
Rochester, near Genesee River, and has a consi- 
derable water power. It is in the town of Wheat- 
land — a town whose staple agricultural produc- 
tion renders it well worthy of its name. The 
annexed statement shows the amount of business 
in Scottsville : 

" Scottsville, Nov. 19, 1835. 

"Sir — There are in this village two flouring 
mills — that of Abram Hanford having 4 runs of 
stone, and that of P. & I. Carpenter having 3 
runs — manufacturing 35,000 bbls. flour annually. 

" One saw-mill, 1 plaster mill, 1 clock factory, 

2 coopers' shops, 3 blacksmith shops, 2 mill- 
wrights, 2 wagon and carriage shops, 1 plough 
factory, 1 cabinet shop, 1 chair shop, and 2 paint 
shops ; 2 shoe and bootmakers' shop, 1 saddle 
and harness maker ; 1 cradle maker, 2 joiners' 
shops ; 1 mason, 1 hatter's shop ; 3 tailor shops ; 

3 taverns, 2 groceries ; 2 milliners' shops ; 1 tin 
and sheet iron factory ; 1 watch maker and jew- 
eler ; 1 stave factory ; 2 butchers' shops : 1 stove 
and hardware factory ; 4 dry goods and variety 
stores, selling goods to the amount of $50,000 
annually. Two lawyers, 3 physicians, and be- 
tween 600 and 700 inhabitants. Village pleas- 
antly located, with buildings generally neat and 
substantial. 

" Two miles above Scottsville, at P. Garbutt's, 
there are 1 flouring mill, with 4 runs ; 1 plaster 
mill ; 1 store, selling $12,000 to $15,000 worth 
of goods ; 2 blacksmiths' shops, a cooper's shop, 
2 joiner's shops, 1 shoe shop, 1 tavern, &c. 
" In haste, respectfully yours, 

"F. X. Beckwith. 

" To Henry O'Reilly." 

The village of Mumford, in Wheatland, has 
about 300 inhabitants, 1 flouring mill, 1 saw- 
mill, 1 plaster mill, 1 brewery, and several me- 
chanic's shops. 



WEST-MENDON — 

Nearly equidistant from Rochester, Geneseo, 
and Canandaigua, and 10 miles from the Erie Ca- 
nal — situated on Honeoye Creek, with 60 feet fall, 
16 of which is perdendicular over flint and lime- 
rock. There are here two large stone flouring 
mills, one with 6 and the other 4 runs of stone ; 
1 saw-mill, stave mill, turning and machine shop, 
1 woolen factory, 1 furnace ; an extensive ax and 
tool factory, built of stone, with three trip-ham- 
mers, &c. Large quarries of excellent building 
stone render building cheap ; and measures are 
taking to connect the village with the canal, by 
a rail-road. The late census shows a population 
of 721 in West-Mendon. 

PENFIELD VILLAGE 

Has also a valuable water-power — the Ironde- 
quoit Creek passes through it, which stream is at 
this point precipitated over a bed of lime-rock, 
forming the " Falls of the Irondequoit." In the 
village of Penfield, there are 3 flouring mills, a 
forge, 2 cloth-dressing and wool-carding estab- 
lishments, 1 oil mill, 2 saw mills, 4 stores, &c. 
Besides this, there are in other parts of the town 
of Penfield, 3 flouring mills, 2 for custom-work 
and 1 for merchant work, 5 saw mills, 3 tanne- 
ries, 3 asheries, 1 distillery, 1 fulling, carding and 
cloth-dressing establishment. The town of Pen- 
field borders north on the shore of Lake Ontario, 
and westerly on Irondequoit Bay. 

The Irondequoit Creek is a very durable 
stream,and in passing through the village of Pen- 
field descends about 90 feet — affording an exten- 
sive water-power, a small portion of which has 
as yet been improved. This water-power has 
lately undergone a change of owners, which will 
probably facilitate the improvement of its privi- 
leges to a considerable extent. 

RIGA. 

Two flour-mills, 6 saw-mills, 2 car$i&g-ma- 
chines and clothier's works, (one with water, 
power and the other with steam,) 3 wagon-ma- 
kers, 1 cabinet shop, seven blacksmiths, 2 tanne- 
ries, 5 stores, &c. 

RUSH. 

Two flouring mills, 4 saw-mills, 1 wool-carding 
and clothing establishment, 5 stores, &c. 

GREECE. 

This town includes the village of Charlotte, 
at the entrance of Genesee River, which has had 
for many years considerable interest in the Lako 
navigation — several vessels being owned here. 
There are in the town 9 saw-mills, 12 blacksmith 
shops, 9 taverns, 7 stores, &c. 

The villages of Pittsford, Fairport, Henriet- 
ta, Clarkson, Mendon, Ogden, Brighton, Par- 
ma, &c. are also in a very thriving condition. 



14 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



POPULATION OF MONROE COUNTY. 

The population of the city of Rochester 
and of the sixteen towns amounts to about 
FIFTY-EIGHT THOUSAND — as follows : 



Towns. 

Brighton 

Chili 

Gates... 

Henrietta 

Mendon 

Ogden 

Pittsford 

Penfieid 

Perrinton 

Sweden 

Riga 

Rush 

Wheatland 

Parma, 

Greece 

Clarkson 

Rochester 1st Ward. 

2d Ward. 

3d Ward. 

4th Ward. 

5th Ward. 



Males. 

1514 
1059 

774 
1144 
1750 
1251 

992 
2481 
1150 
1872 
1066 
1061 
1451 
1537 
1731 
1981 
1190 
1691 
1467 
1511 
1526 



Females. 

1369 
892 
673 
1071 
1663 
1183 
977 
2424 
1053 
1687 
839 
965 
1233 
1453 
1534 
1855 
1076 
1623 
1425 
1502 
1387 



Total. 

2883 

1951 

1447 

2215 

3413 

2434 

1969 

4905 

2203 

3559 

1905 

2026, 

2684 ! 

2990 

3265 

3836 

2272 

3314 

2892 

3013 

2913 



Total 30205 27884 58089 

0^7=The disparity in number between the 
sexes is remarkable in every town and ward. 
While eastern editors are deploring- the lone- 
ly lot of the thousands of virgins who pine 
in single blessedness owing* to the superabun- 
dance of female population in their vicini- 
ties, it seems that there are in this quarter 
some hundreds less of the fair sex than is re- 
quisite for preserving a due equilibrium, espe- 
cially in a manufacturing community like 
ours of Rochester. 

[From the Rochester Daily Advertiser of > T ov. 26.] 

THE LATE EXTRAORDINARY FLOOD 
OF GENESEE RIVER. 
The year 1835 will be equally memorable 
in Rochester and Buffalo, for the floods with 
which both cities have been visited — the one, 
from Genesee River — the other, from Lake 
Erie. 

The late rise of the Genesee is probably j 
unprecedented by any former floods of the j 
River. At least, no freshet comparable to it 
has occurred within the knowledge of our 
oldest citizens. It may, however, find fre- 
quent parallels hereafter ; for as the country 
becomes better cleared, the water (from the 
rain or thawing snow) will more suddenly 
find its way to the River, than could be the 
case from wild land. 

By calculations made a few years ago by j 
the Rev. Dr. Penny, formerly of Rochester, 
find now President elect of Hamilton Col- 
lege, it appears that the quantity of water 



in the Genesee river, in its usual state, is a- 
bout 20,000 cubic feet per minute — with a fall 
within the city limits which makes it equal in 
force to 1920 steam engines of twenty horse 
power. 

The greatness of the late flood may be es- 
timated by the following facts, in connexion 
with the foregoing statement. 

It seems that the quantity of water which 
passed in the Genesee through Rochester on 
this last occasion, was two millions one hun- 
dred and sixty-four thousand one hundred and 
eighty-five cubic feet per minute !— upwards 
of 108 times more than the usual flow of the 
River, in the state in which the Rev. Dr. 
Penny measured it ! 

Knowing that Hervey Ely, Esq. had taken 
great pains to measure the volume of water 
during the late flood, a letter requesting the 
particulars for publication was addressed to 
him by Mr. O'Reilly while prosecuting his 
inquiries into the statistics of the city. The 
facts stated in the reply of Mr. Ely render his 
letter well worthy of preservation : 

"Rochester, Nov. 11, 1835. 
"Henry O'Reilly, Esq. 

" Dear Sir — Your letter of the 5th instant 
came to hand through the Post Office. 

" I took a measurement of the water 6f 
the River during the height of the late flood. 
From the several tests I made of the rapidity 
of the current, I am well satisfied that the 
measurement is as near strict accuracy as is 
within the bounds of practicability. 

" The point selected for the measurement 
was between the South Bridge and Dam, 
where the waters are confined between two 
walls, except what was passing in the mill- 
races on each side — these latter were estima- 
ted, and the estimate added to the measure- 
ment of the main channel. The bed of the 
River at this point has an inclination to the 
East, which causes the water to be a few in- 
ches deeper on that side than on the west — 
this difference was in view in the measure- 
ment. Should you wish it, I will with pleas- 
ure lay the details before you, if you will 
take the trouble to call at my office. 

" As for the result of these experiments — 
I found the quantity passing each minute to be 
TWO MILLIONS ONE HUNDRED AND 
SIXTY-FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUN- 
DRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE cubic feet. 

" It will give me pleasure to render you any 
further information in my power in further- 
ance of your very useful documents. 
" Yours, very respectfully, 

"H. ELY." 



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